Acupressure or pressure acupuncture (acupuncture without needles) is well known to have lenitive and curative benefits as well as being an aid to relaxation and wellness. Acupressure practiced on the feet is also known as foot reflexology/massage. Bukowski and Gelfer et al patents both disclose such acupressure massage mats. As a user of different foot massage mats, I found that I had to continuously “march-on-the-spot” atop said mats and could not enjoy the free flow of a natural walking motion.
Treadmills are well known especially for running and walking activities. They usually have an endless belt travelling around a plurality of pulleys, powered by the user's actions or a motor. These “regular” treadmills however offer no acupressure benefits.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,527,241, 7,510,511, and 7,976,437 disclose complex specialized treadmills with cobblestone or rounded beads on the outer surface of the treadmill belt.
Amongst other drawbacks, these are not convertible back to “regular” smooth surfaced belts, so a user desiring such would have to purchase another treadmill apparatus.
US patent application publication 20050170935 discloses a proprioceptive exercise mat and a set of specialized whole treadmill belts. For the person that desires to combine bare foot massages with regular running/walking on a smooth surface treadmill, they would have to purchase a combination of different treadmills and /or exercise mats and/or contend with daily complex whole treadmill belt changes.